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About time too!

Import ban for wild parrots and ornamental birds

This yellow-fronted amazon is being transported to the market to be soldAfter year long campaigns by CABS and other nature and wildlife protection organisations the EU has finally declared a permanent ban on the import into Europe of ornamental birds from the wild.

In addition to the scandalous transport conditions, which violate all animal protection regulations, a report by the European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) was the crucial factor in arriving at the decision to ban wild bird imports. In their report, the experts in Brussels confirmed not only the high mortality transport rates – which CABS has denounced for years – but also the severe health risk associated with the handling of animals and birds taken from the wild. In particular SCFCAH emphasised the high risk of infection by viruses such as bird flu, which are carried by wild birds.

“This decision by the EU has, at a single stroke, saved the lives of millions of wild birds” states CABS spokesperson Axel Hirschfeld, “these birds would otherwise have suffered a harrowing death from thirst, hunger or suffocation during transport” he continued. In illustration he referred to the official EU import statistics, which record a figure of 1.5 million imported exotic birds annually. It is now imperative that the import ban is properly monitored by the German police, customs and nature protection agencies, and that offences are consistently followed up and punished. CABS announced that they would intensify their monitoring of wildlife trading exchanges and breeder periodicals in the coming year, to check whether animals and birds taken from the wild were still being offered for sale.

Blue-and-Yellow Macaws in the wild in BrazilThis success against the international trade in wildlife in Germany was only possible due to donations made in Germany. If you would like to support us in our continuing efforts to protect wildlife, we will be very grateful for your donation towards our international nature and animal protection work.